20 Best colleges for Communications and Public Relations in Tennessee

Updated: March 02, 2025

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in Tennessee ranked based on their research performance in Communications and Public Relations. A graph of 257K citations received by 8.69K academic papers made by 20 universities in Tennessee was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. University of Tennessee - Knoxville

Knoxville

For Communications and Public Relations

#48 in the United States

#57 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 46%
Average SAT: 1265
Average ACT: 28
Receiving Aid: 90%

2. Vanderbilt University

Nashville

For Communications and Public Relations

#81 in the United States

#92 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 6%
Average SAT: 1535
Average ACT: 35
Net Price: $26,689

3. University of Memphis

Memphis

For Communications and Public Relations

#119 in the United States

#139 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Average SAT: 1055
Average ACT: 21
Receiving Aid: 97%

4. Middle Tennessee State University

Murfreesboro

For Communications and Public Relations

#216 in the United States

#247 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 68%
Average SAT: 1115
Average ACT: 23
Receiving Aid: 96%

5. East Tennessee State University

Johnson

For Communications and Public Relations

#234 in the United States

#267 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 87%
Average SAT: 1060
Average ACT: 23
Receiving Aid: 92%

6. University of Tennessee - Chattanooga

Chattanooga

For Communications and Public Relations

#256 in the United States

#289 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Average SAT: 1095
Average ACT: 23
Receiving Aid: 95%

7. University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Memphis

For Communications and Public Relations

#388 in the United States

#433 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 40%
Enrollment: 3,121
Male:Female: 33:67
Founded: 1911

8. Tennessee Technological University

Cookeville

For Communications and Public Relations

#489 in the United States

#538 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 83%
Average SAT: 1135
Average ACT: 24
Receiving Aid: 97%

9. Johnson University

Knoxville

For Communications and Public Relations

#494 in the United States

#543 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 54%
Average SAT: 990
Average ACT: 22
Net Price: $20,713

10. King University

Bristol

For Communications and Public Relations

#521 in the United States

#572 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 54%
Net Price: $23,282
Receiving Aid: 84%
Average Aid: $24,339

11. Belmont University

Nashville

For Communications and Public Relations

#524 in the United States

#575 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 96%
Average SAT: 1255
Average ACT: 27
Net Price: $37,558

12. Tennessee State University

Nashville

For Communications and Public Relations

#527 in the United States

#578 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Average SAT: 962
Average ACT: 19
Receiving Aid: 94%

13. Austin Peay State University

Clarksville

For Communications and Public Relations

#591 in the United States

#646 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 96%
Average SAT: 1054
Average ACT: 21
Receiving Aid: 98%

14. University of Tennessee - Martin

Martin

For Communications and Public Relations

#664 in the United States

#726 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 87%
Average SAT: 1105
Average ACT: 22
Receiving Aid: 99%

15. Meharry Medical College

Nashville

For Communications and Public Relations

#704 in the United States

#766 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 10%
Enrollment: 1,083
Male:Female: 31:69
Founded: 1876

16. University of the South

Sewanee

For Communications and Public Relations

#727 in the United States

#791 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 51%
Average SAT: 1317
Average ACT: 30
Net Price: $33,616

17. Bryan College - Dayton

Dayton

For Communications and Public Relations

#729 in the United States

#793 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Net Price: $17,105
Receiving Aid: 97%
Average Aid: $12,650

18. Rhodes College

Memphis

For Communications and Public Relations

#732 in the United States

#796 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 50%
Average SAT: 1390
Average ACT: 31
Net Price: $30,590

19. Lipscomb University

Nashville

For Communications and Public Relations

#741 in the United States

#805 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 67%
Average SAT: 1248
Average ACT: 26
Net Price: $27,386

20. Union University

Jackson

For Communications and Public Relations

#773 in the United States

#837 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 47%
Average SAT: 1185
Average ACT: 26
Net Price: $27,191

Closest to Tennessee states to learn Communications and Public Relations

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Kentucky	11	51
Alabama	11	83
Georgia	26	26
Indiana	17	27
Mississippi	7	139
South Carolina	12	44
Illinois	30	19
North Carolina	21	20
Arkansas	7	124
Ohio	30	16
West Virginia	4	97
Missouri	17	52
Virginia	23	23
Louisiana	17	92
District of Columbia	8	31
Maryland	16	12
Iowa	7	46
Pennsylvania	54	2
Michigan	18	1
Florida	29	21
Wisconsin	14	14
Oklahoma	8	58
Kansas	8	64
New Jersey	17	17
New York	82	11
Minnesota	20	9
Connecticut	16	28
Nebraska	6	54
Rhode Island	7	170
Massachusetts	40	4
Texas	53	22
Vermont	4	137
South Dakota	3	296
New Hampshire	6	93
Colorado	14	68
North Dakota	2	213
Maine	6	217
Utah	7	70
Arizona	6	5
Idaho	3	200
Puerto Rico	4	790
California	78	6
Oregon	12	89
Washington	16	3
Hawaii	4	127